Rebuilding His Life Again
by rubirosemari
Summary: The full extent of Harry's abuse at the hands of the Dursleys comes out when Professor McGonagall hand delivers his Hogwarts letter so, by the time Sirius gets out of Azkaban, Harry is living with the Weasleys and neither needs nor wants a godfather. With nothing left to hold him in the wizarding world Sirius accepts the chance to try and rebuild his life again in the muggle world.
1. The Truth Comes Out

**Rebuilding His Life Again **

**Chapter 1: The Truth Comes Out **

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor and Professor of Transfiguration, sat at her desk sorting through the admission letters for the incoming first years. With so much responsibility in the running of the school, ironically, the summer holidays were Minerva's busiest time of year, but she always made time to personally sort through the admission letters. In the case of the muggleborns Minerva had to do it anyway and, at the same time, she always went through letters for the purebloods and halfbloods as well. Over the years Minerva had discovered more than one case of child abuse this way so it was a duty she would never slip up on. She flipped through the stack of letters, looking for one in particular. For 10 years now Minerva had looked forward to the day James and Lily's only child would come to Hogwarts. Lily Evans had probably been her favourite student ever and James Potter had been the son of Minerva's best friend. She'd been heartbroken by their deaths and had cried for months over the exile of their son to the muggle world. Minerva should _never _have let little Harry go and, most importantly, she should _never _have abandoned little Harry to the care of the Dursleys. Multiple times over the years since she'd first met Lily Evans Minerva had comforted the girl over the cruelty of her older sister and James had never tried to hide the fact he despised his in-laws. With the relationship between the Potters and the Dursleys so strained Minerva couldn't help feeling that they'd made a terrible mistake appointing Petunia Harry's legal guardian. Unfortunately, though Albus had been adamant. Harry _would _be living with his maternal relatives and would have _no _contact with anyone in the wizarding world until he reached Hogwarts age. For nearly a full decade Minerva had been sick with worry over the boy and she wouldn't be able to rest until she saw for herself whether or not Harry was okay.

Parkinson, Patil, Patil, Perks...Potter. Finally Minerva located Harry's letter. Her eyes narrowed in fury as she noticed the address. _What the HELL? _

Minerva could have taken her concerns to Albus but he was out of the castle on Wizengamot business. There was also the fact that it was Albus who had repeatedly reassured her that Harry was safe and loved by the Dursleys. Minerva couldn't be sure whether the old man had somehow missed this or whether he'd deliberately overlooked it. Either way it didn't look good for Albus and Minerva didn't want to bring him into the situation at least until she was sure of the facts. Seizing Harry's Hogwarts letter she stalked out of the castle, to the edge of the wards. Her mood must have been reflected on her face because the few people she encountered on the way didn't attempt to stop her or, even, greet her. Transfiguring her robes into something acceptable for a visit to the muggle world, Minerva apparated to the Surrey suburb she'd last visited over nine years earlier. Despite knowing where Harry was Minerva hadn't been able to visit because Albus had told her that until Harry's Hogwarts letter was issued the blood wards would keep all magic users, other than himself, away. Now, though no such obstacles would stand in her way. She stalked up to the door and knocked sharply, only to freeze when it opened. The boy that came out to greet her caused Minerva to flash back to 20 years earlier. Harry looked _so _much like the 11 year old James Potter that had first arrived at Hogwarts. The boy was virtually identical to his late father. The only difference was that Harry had his mother's shocking emerald eyes instead of warm brown eyes of his father. "_Harry!" _Minerva breathed in amazement. She thought that she'd been prepared for this moment but she really wasn't.

For his part Harry was bemused that this woman knew his name. Aside from the Dursleys, the people at school and a few neighbors Harry didn't know anybody and nobody knew him. "Yes mam," he said politely. "What can I do for you and, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know my name?"

"Of course I don't mind you asking, Harry," Minerva said. "To answer your question your parents were good friends of mine and, prior to that, I taught them both at Hogwarts. You'll know all about that, of course."

Harry looked confused. "Uh, no mam. I've never heard of the place and, to be honest, the only things I know about my mum and dad are that my mum was something Aunt Petunia called a whore and that my dad was a no-good drunk who got both himself and mum killed by driving drunk."

Minerva's eyes bulged in disbelief. She realized that Harry didn't have a clue about magic. He believed himself to be a muggle. "And your aunt and uncle told you this, did they?" she asked dangerously.

"Yes mam," Harry said, slightly unnerved by this woman's sudden change of mood. "Aunt Petunia is my mum's sister. She and Uncle Vernon took me in after mum and dad died."

"Yes, I know," Minerva said darkly. And if she had her way, after today, Harry would never set foot in this hell hole again. She had a bad feeling that she wasn't even close to uncovering the worst of it and she was already ready to take Harry away forever. "Harry there is no easy way to tell you this but your aunt and uncle have been lying to you."

Instead of looking suspicious or shocked, Harry's emerald eyes brightened. "Really?" he asked. "I've always hoped so. If you knew my mum and dad can you tell me what they were really like then?"

"Yes, of course," Minerva assured him. "In fact, if you will invite me in so I can speak to the Dursleys, we will see about having you come and stay with people who were a bit closer to your parents than they were."

Harry didn't think he had ever moved so fast. He stepped aside so Minerva could come into the house and led her back to the dining room where the Dursleys were. On the way down the hall Minerva glared at the cupboard under the stairs, remembering the address on poor Harry's admission letter. Knowing that it might be needed for evidence later, she flicked her wand, silently activating a few scanning spells which hopefully would tell her just how bad the abuse that had taken place in this house of horrors was. In the dining room Vernon and Dudley were sitting at the table gorging themselves on a hearty english breakfast, all of which had been cooked by Harry, while, from the counter, Petunia surveyed her boys fondly. Watching the appalling manners with which they ate, Minerva was disgusted with the muggles. The two males were still in their pajamas, for Merlin's sake, and it was nearly 11o'clock. Minerva had been up for hours! "I hope you told whoever was at the door to come back at a more civilized hour, boy," Uncle Vernon said, around a mouthful of food.

"No, Mr Dursley, he did not!" Minerva said icily, from her spot in the doorway.

"Who the devil are you?" Uncle Vernon demanded, turning around to face Minerva. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming barging into my home?"

"I think, Mr Dursley, that I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Minerva said coldly, moving to stand between Harry and the fat muggle.

It was a good thing she did, too, because upon hearing the word 'witchcraft' Uncle Vernon jumped up from his seat with agility that was surprising considering his size and charged towards Harry howling "freeeeak!"

Furiously, Minerva cast a banishing charm which, while it didn't _really _hurt the muggle, it sent him careening backwards across the room, causing him to land on the dining table which promptly collapsed under his considerable weight. Then, in case Vernon, or any of the other Dursleys got any ideas, Minerva flicked her wand again, conjuring an iron gate, running from floor to ceiling in the center of the room, effectively caging the Dursleys off from her and Harry. The young wizard in question watched all of this, his mouth hanging open in shock and his eyes gleaming. "Magic!" he exclaimed, finally finding his voice again. "They always told me that magic isn't real but they were lying, weren't they?" he asked Minerva. "It's magic I can do, isn't it, Professor?"

"Yes Harry," Minerva said, smiling at his enthusiasm. "You are a wizard, as your father was before you. Your mother, as I am, was a witch. I will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"So Hogwarts is a school?" Harry asked. "A school where I can learn how to be a wizard?"

"The best magic school in all the world," Minerva confirmed.

Harry's enthusiasm visibly deflated. "As much as I'd like to I don't think I can go, mam. I don't have any money to pay for it myself and I don't think my relatives will."

Minerva sent a disdainful look at Harry's relatives who were listening to her conversation with the young wizard in horror. Minerva had no doubt that if they'd been able to Petunia and, especially, Vernon would be objecting strenuously but, unwilling to listen to any of their bitter vitriol or to subject Harry to any more, she'd silenced the lot of them. "Do not worry about money, Harry," she reassured the young boy. "Your name has been down for Hogwarts since the day you were born. Your parents paid for your education in full before they died."

"So my parents weren't unemployed, like the Dursleys told me?" Harry asked interestedly.

"Of course not!" Minerva exclaimed, outraged. "Harry, your mother, to this day, remains the most gifted pupil I have ever taught and your father was brilliant in his own way as well. When they finished school there was a terrible war going on. Your father fought in it as a soldier and your mother was a trainee healer, a type of magical doctor, although she took some time off when you were born. Your parents died fighting to try and make this world a better place. Make no mistake Harry, James and Lily Potter are heroes in our world."

"James and Lily," Harry whispered reverently. "So my parents names were James and Lily?"

"Yes," Minerva confirmed gently, scowling at the Dursleys as she assimilated that Harry hadn't even known what his mother and father's names were. She stepped back out into the hallway to look at the results of the scanning spell and, if not for the fact she feared it would have frightened Harry, she would have cursed the Dursleys into a puddle of slime. Some people should never be parents. "Harry, would you tell me what it is like for you to live with the Dursleys? You father sadly had no family left other than you and your mother so, after James and Lily's passing, you were brought here so your mother's family could give you a home."

A few times Harry had tried to tell his teachers at primary school what life was like for him with the Dursleys but it had always backfired on him and things usually became worse than ever before. After his last attempt a year ago Harry had given up, vowing to keep his mouth shut and his head down, to just try and survive until his 18th birthday when he could leave this hellhole forever. Looking at the iron gate, however, Harry decided to be honest with Professor McGonagall. She had already protected him from the Dursleys once. Hopefully she would do it again. "A home?" he snorted, sounding much more bitter and world weary than a 10 year old should. "This isn't my home. This is just a place I have no choice but to stay until I turn 18 and can live on my own."

In that moment Harry unknowingly caused the already severely weakened blood wards to collapse for the last time. Minerva was unaware what happened but Harry's words were all that she needed to hear. If Albus didn't like it too bad. Minerva would take her friend to court if she needed to. Harry Potter would not be spending another night in this house of horrors. "Come with me, Harry," she said, gently, holding out a hand to the boy. "We are leaving and I promise that you need never see these people again."


	2. Three Years Later

**Rebuilding His Life Again **

**Chapter 2: Three Years Later...**

Needing some time to himself Harry Potter slipped away from the crowd at the Burrow and headed out for a walk around the grounds. Molly probably wouldn't be happy with him for not asking permission and for going by himself but, with Pettigrew in Azkaban and with the knowledge that Sirius Black was not a threat to him, it wasn't as if walking around the Weasley property would be dangerous. Harry loved the Weasleys dearly. They were a loving family to him while asking nothing in return but they were _so _boisterous. For Harry, going from the rigid, cold environment of Privet Drive to the chaotic environment at the Burrow, was, at times, overwhelming and on those occasions he needed to get away by himself for a bit of piece and quiet. Wandering through the orchard, Harry thought of all the changes that had taken place in his life these last few years.

From Privet Drive, Professor McGonagall had whisked Harry away to the Hogwarts hospital wing. As a rule Harry didn't like doctors. The Dursleys had a nasty habit of being able to weasel their way out of trouble so whenever Uncle Vernon went too far and the Dursleys were forced to get Harry medical help Harry had been put in the awkward position of striking the difficult balance between getting the help he needed and making sure he didn't let anything slip that wouldn't make life harder for himself at Privet Drive. With Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, though they already knew how horrible the Dursleys were so, for once, Harry had been able to be honest. Madam Pomfrey had informed him that, while he was severely malnourished and had a lot of poorly healed injuries, his magical core was unharmed and within a year at most, with a sensible diet and exercise plan and a potions regime, he would catch up to his age group in height and weight and he would be able to live a relatively normal life.

Soon after that Harry had met Professor Dumbledore who, apparently, was the person who'd dumped him on the Dursleys. To begin with the old man had acted disappointed with Professor McGonagall for taking Harry away from Privet Drive and with Harry for claiming that the Dursleys weren't his family. Harry hadn't quite known what to think of the old man in the beginning, especially when he suggested that Harry should be returned to the Dursleys. Professor Dumbledore had, thankfully, admitted defeat, though when he discovered that the blood wards which, apparently, had kept Harry safe at Privet Drive, were gone and couldn't be restored. Instead he'd taken Harry to the Burrow, where the Weasleys lived. The Weasleys were longtime friends of the Professor's and had even vaguely known Harry's biological family. They were a large family but they had lots of love to go around so happily agreed to take Harry in. The stipend the Weasleys got from the Potter Estate also eased the financial worries of Molly and Arthur.

Harry and Ron had been best friends basically from day one and, after their sorting into Gryffindor, after a rocky beginning, they made friends with Hermione Granger. Since then the trio had gone on a variety of adventures. The most recent one had begun with a confrontation in the Shrieking Shack where it had been revealed that Ron's pet rat Scabbers was actually Peter Pettigrew in disguise and that it was Peter, not Sirius Black, that had betrayed Harry's family. Between the dementors crawling all over Hogwarts, Snape's interference and the Minister of Magic's unwillingness to see the evidence right before his eyes the night had nearly turned into a terrible tragedy. Thankfully, however, Harry had thought to tell Professor McGonagall who, in turn, had told Amelia Bones, Director of the DMLE. Luckily the combined efforts of Professor Dumbledore and Madam Bones had gotten everyone what they deserved: Pettigrew a cell in Azkaban, Sirius his freedom and Harry the truth about the fate of his family.

That was where things had gotten complicated for Harry, however. Sirius, his godfather, wanted Harry to live with him. Harry, however, refused to leave the Weasleys. Truthfully Harry wasn't sure that he wanted anything to do with Sirius. After his first, disastrous potions lessons with Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall had revealed to Harry the reason the potions master hated him so much was that he had been bullied by James Potter and Sirius Black as a teenager. After growing up with the Dursleys Harry had an _extremely _low tolerance for bullies. Knowing that his father had died trying to buy him and his mother enough time to get away Harry couldn't exactly hate James. Sirius on the other hand...Well, Harry didn't exactly hate the man. He just wasn't sure he wanted to invite that sort of person into his life. Yes it was tragic what Sirius had been through but Harry wasn't going to get close to someone he wasn't sure of just because someone else had dropped the ball.

Harry knew that was pretty cold of him, especially when you took into account Sirius' statement that Harry was the reason he'd fought the dementors for his sanity for so long. Madam Pomfrey said that was okay, though. During his mind healing sessions the healer said that Harry needed to start putting himself first for a change and that was exactly what he was doing.

Meanwhile a distinctly unimpressed Sirius Black was sitting in a conference room at Gringotts. The ministry officials that he was meeting with looked just as unhappy. In fact, the only person that looked like they were enjoying themselves was Ironheart, the goblin solicitor that Sirius' bank manager had recommended. There was no way in _hell _Sirius would ever voluntarily set foot in the Ministry of Magic again so he'd insisted on having this meeting at Gringotts. He'd also decided to use a goblin solicitor because, not only did he know it would make the ministry officials uncomfortable, Sirius trusted a grand total of zero humans right now. Maybe if Harry had wanted to form a relationship Sirius would have given a few of his old friends a second chance but no such luck. It had come as a bitter blow to Sirius that the godson he loved more than life itself didn't want to know him but Sirius couldn't really blame the lad. After all, he'd massively dropped the ball by handing Harry over to Hagrid on that terrible Halloween. He should have taken care of his injured, orphaned godson instead of running off to satisfy his own need for revenge. Things would have been _so _different if he had. Instead, though Sirius had been selfish and now he was a stranger to his beloved godson, not like the Weasleys, who'd taken Harry in and loved him, after the cruelty he'd had inflicted on him by Lily's foul family. Sirius should have known better than to think Harry would leave Molly and Arthur to come and live with him. Sirius didn't blame his godson, though. He'd made _such _a mess of everything. It was probably best that he get his own life in order before he took the risk of messing anyone else's up.

Sirius forced his attention back to the meeting. He knew that he needed to get through this before he could start putting his 'rest of my life' plan into action. The last thing Sirius felt like doing was dealing with the fucking ministry but it was something that he had to do. The only silver lining was that Ironheart had managed to get Barty Crouch, as the person who'd made the final decision to send Sirius to Azkaban without a trial, excluded from the meeting. Sirius may dislike and distrust most of the Ministry but he _hated _Crouch with a fiery passion and feared that he would actually become guilty of murder if he came face to face with the bastard that had ruined his life. Instead, present at the meeting was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and his Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge. Amelia Bones was present in her capacity as Director of the DMLE and Dumbledore had managed to worm his way into the meeting in his roll as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Sirius would be lying if he said that he was happy about it. He'd joined the Order of the Phoenix almost as soon as he graduated Hogwarts and had put his life on the line dozens of times fighting for the old man's cause. Then, though, after he'd been arrested, he hadn't even merited a visit from Dumbledore to find out why he'd betrayed the cause, let alone a trial all the while, Snape, who'd been a fully fledged deatheater, had enjoyed a cushy job at Hogwarts and the Professor's protection from the law.

The Ministry officials all look disheartened. "Sirius, my boy, please be reasonable," Dumbledore attempted gently.

"A million galleons is _a lot _of money," Minister Fudge said. "I'm not so sure that the Ministry can afford..."

"I think that my client is being _extremely _reasonable," Ironheart cut in coldly. "For your information less than half of the million galleons Mr Black is asking for is compensation for wrongful imprisonment. The rest is reimbursement for fees he shouldn't reasonably be expected to pay. I drew up an itemized list. Why don't we review it?"

Sirius smirked at the parchment Ironheart passed around the room. The goblin was really attempting to take the Ministry for all it was worth. Initially he hadn't been going to ask for compensation from the Ministry. After all, both his grandfathers and both his parents had died while he was in Azkaban leaving him _extremely _wealthy as the sole beneficiary of the Black Estate. Sirius' account manager, Sharpclaw, however, had convinced him that the Ministry needed to pay. After all the wily Dumbledore, Fudge and Crouch had all managed to push the blame for Sirius' wrongful imprisonment onto Millicent Bangold who, may she burn in hell, was dead now and unable to defend herself. Bangold _was _guilty but she wasn't the only one. Money wouldn't bring back the nearly 13 years of his life that Sirius had lost but it would make him feel a hell of a lot better about basically letting the Ministry get off scot free for what had happened to him.

"Firstly, before his imprisonment, my client worked as a hit wizard and earned a salary of 2000 galleons per month," Ironheart began. "And according to Ministry of Magic records his employment was never formally severed. Mr Black was imprisoned and then on the run for approximately 152 months which means he is owed 304,000 galleons in backpay."

"That is not entirely...unreasonable," Madam Bones said slowly.

"Furthermore," Ironheart continued nastily. "According to my research, DMLE regulations state that every time an employee has to work at Azkaban they earn a 50% pay increase. Given how long Mr Black spent in Azkaban that takes the backpay he is owed up to 456,000 galleons."

"I suppose I can agree to that," Minister Fudge said reluctantly.

"Thank you, Minister," Sirius said, his voice oozing false sincerity. "And on that note I would like to take this time to formally tender my resignation."

"Are you sure, Sirius, my boy?" Dumbledore asked. "I am sure Amelia would happily re-hire you."

Sirius' jaw dropped. "Are you joking?" he demanded. "You think that I'm going to willingly return to work with my former colleagues, the so-called friends that dumped me in Azkaban and threw away the key without a seconds thought? Have you actually lost your mind?"

Neither Dumbledore nor any of the Ministry officials seemed to know what to say to that so Ironheart moved on. "Furthermore, my client spent 30 days in St Mungos following his release from Azkaban, at a cost of 1000 galleons. Upon his discharge he was placed on a potions regime which cost a further 850 galleons. On top of that it has been recommended that he seek up to 1000 hours of mind healing which, at a cost of 10 galleons an hour, could cost up to 10,000 galleons. My bill will also be 10,000 galleons. Finally, at the time of his arrest, my client was renting an apartment in Hogsmeade. When he defaulted on the rental payments Mr Black's estate was billed 1755 galleons. All his possessions left in the apartment were sold off by the landlord in the foreclosure. The inventory of those items I managed to obtain value those items at 26,875 galleons. That comes to a total of 506,480 galleons. I feel rounding that amount up to 1million galleons would be fair compensation."

"I don't know," Fudge said, shifting uncomfortably. "That is a lot of money."

"Money which the Ministry of Magic can well afford to pay," Ironheart said nastily. "Should you refuse my client could always file a complaint against your government with the ICW. How much more compensation do you think they'd award him? I hear they're big on things like human rights which, in case you're wondering, holding someone prisoner without a trial for 12 years, clearly breaches. At least 1million galleons won't put a dent in the ministry budget and, settling out of court means you'll probably all keep your jobs."

"There is that," Fudge said, Ironheart's demands appealing to his greed.

"Excellent," the goblin said, passing Madam Bones some parchment. "This is the account where the money is to be deposited. You have one week."

Dumbledore gave Sirius sad looks as he and the Ministry officials were ushered out of Gringotts but Sirius pointedly ignored the old man. Sirius knew his old headmaster was trying to get him to forgive him but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Sirius just didn't see the point. Maybe if his godson wanted to know him Sirius would have made an effort with his so-called old 'friends' but without Harry Sirius had nothing to tie him to the magical community and he wouldn't be forgetting the betrayal of pretty much everyone he used to know anytime soon. "Bastards," he mumbled as the door shut behind the old man.

"Indeed," Ironheart smirked. "Anyway, presuming the Ministry cooperate the money should be transferred into your account with no problems."

Sirius was grateful that at least _something _was going right in his life. "Thank you, Ironheart."

"May I ask where I can contact you?" the goblin inquired. "Your account manager was under the impression that you were going traveling soon."

"Not traveling," Sirius said. "Leaving. There's nothing here for me anymore. I'm leaving the wizarding world and I'm never coming back."


	3. Planning For The Future

**Rebuilding His Life Again**

**Chapter 3: Planning For The Future **

Albus Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts looking and feeling much older than his already considerably advanced age. The guilt he felt over the Sirius Black situation was indescribable. He had always been fond of Sirius, right from the time Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor at just 11 years old. Having the courage to stand up for your convictions was something that Albus had always admired in a person so he'd been amazed by Sirius who had had the courage to shun the beliefs of his dark family and strike out on his own at such a tender age.

Albus knew that he had truly let Sirius down. Sirius had been one of the hardest working members of the Order. He'd risked everything to bring Albus vital intelligence that allowed him to combat Voldemort's forces and the sheer incompetence of the Ministry. When Sirius needed him, though Albus had turned his back on his young friend and left him to rot. He hadn't insisted on a trial for Sirius and he hadn't even visited the man in prison to find out what had happened. In fact, until Sirius escaped Azkaban Albus hadn't even thought about the man in years; sort of an 'out of sight, out of mind' situation. Albus' only defense was that it had been a chaotic time when Sirius was arrested. Albus had had many different responsibilities and the Sirius Black situation had basically been allowed to fall by the wayside. Then again, though it had still been a chaotic time when, months later, Severus had been tried as a deatheater and Albus had intervened in that situation. The old man couldn't blame Sirius for hating him.

Walking through the castle, Albus crossed paths with Minerva. She looked just as pale and drawn as Albus. She knew Albus had been meeting with Sirius today. As the former head of house of the rambunctious marauders Minerva hadn't been quite as fond of Sirius as Albus had been but she was still beside herself at the travesty that had befallen one of her old Lions. Minerva had also become very close to young Harry Potter after rescuing him from the awful Dursleys and was worried about how the Sirius Black situation would affect him. "Well?" she demanded. "How did it go?"

Albus shook his head sadly. "I think it's safe to say that he despises us all. He barely looked in my direction all day."

"Well now that he's officially free hopefully that will change," Minerva said optimistically.

"I must say that I think that's highly unlikely," Albus said. "Maybe if Harry had wanted to form a relationship it would but without him..."

Minerva frowned, angry that Sirius was holding them to ransom like this. "So you're saying that because Harry doesn't want to get to know him Sirius is going to take it out on us?"

Albus shook his head. "I truly don't think that Sirius sees it that way. I think he sees it more as a case of 'we didn't care about his feelings 13 years ago so why should he care about our feelings now?' I don't think Sirius would want to forgive us even if Harry did want to form a relationship but, for his godson's sake, he might have attempted to make an effort. Without Harry, however, he feels like there's nothing tying him to us and that he has no reason to even attempt to mend his relationships with us."

"I can't believe any of this," Minerva sighed, still not liking it but understanding where her old Lion was coming from.

"Neither can I," Albus said sadly. "But we have to remember that it is not Sirius' fault. He did everything he could to protect the Potter family and when it didn't work out we let him down. _I _let him down."

"Albus, this mess is no more your fault than it is Sirius'," Minerva reassured him.

"No, but it is me that could have, and should have, helped him the most," Albus sighed. "But I let Sirius completely slip my mind and now I can't help wondering what else I've overlooked. I am starting to think that I've spread myself too thin with all my various positions. Fortunately there is one that I can give up to free up some of my time, still leaving the job in safe hands."

"Albus, what are you saying?" Minerva asked anxiously.

"Minerva," Albus said. "I have decided that it is time for me to retire as Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"So you're just going to leave?" Minerva asked in shock.

"I will announce my retirement at the Board of Governors meeting tomorrow and recommend you as my replacement," Albus said. "That will give us time for an official handover of my duties to you and to select a new deputy, transfiguration professor and head of Gryffindor, before you take over completely at the start of the new term. Alastor has already agreed to teach DADA."

"But Albus, what about the tournament?" Minerva asked, panicked.

"All the arrangements have already been made," Albus reassured her. "All you will have to do is sit on the judging panel with Barty Crouch and the other heads. Minerva, you can do this! It will be a wrench for me to leave Hogwarts. It is the one job I wanted to have forever but it is also the one job I feel safe enough to leave, knowing I will be leaving the school in extremely capable hands."

"Oh Albus, Hogwarts won't be the same without you!" Minerva said.

"Everything must come to an end, Minerva," Albus reminded her. "Besides, I have no intention of disappearing. It is high time that I get the Ministry in working order and we both know that Voldemort will come back eventually. I intend to be ready for him when he does."

Meanwhile at Gringotts Ironheart didn't seem at all surprised by Sirius' declaration. "I suspected that would be the case."

For his part Sirius was wasn't surprised that the goblin had figured out what he was going to do. In his experience goblins were far more astute than the highly illogical witches and wizards. That was probably how the race had managed to keep control of the entire wizarding economy for centuries, despite being loathed by most of the human magical population. "I see," he said blandly.

As a pureblood who'd lived his entire life around magic it was going to be very different living mostly as a muggle. Sirius knew more about the muggle world than most purebloods but it was still going to be quite the challenge building himself a new life. He was quite looking forward to it, though. At the very least it would be something to fill his days. Besides, aside from his animagus transformation, which was the one thing Sirius was planning not to give up, it wasn't as though he'd actively done any magic in 13 years now so giving it up wouldn't be as difficult as one would think.

"I am wondering whether you would like some assistance?" Ironheart asked. "I'm sure it will come as no great surprise to you that, in such a prejudiced society witches and wizards abandon the magical world all the time. Usually they are muggleborn and halfblood but there is the occasional pureblood. My point is, there exists an organization in the muggle government, one of their duties being to help defectors from the magical world adjust to life back in the muggle world. I have been in touch with this organization about you and, not only are they happy to help you if you need it, they are very interested in offering you employent. It isn't often they gain access to a pureblood who..."

"Knows all the dirty little secrets about the magical world but who isn't in the Ministry's pocket or one of Voldemort's lackeys," Sirius realized out loud.

"Precisely," Ironheart nodded. "Anyway, would you be interested in meeting with the group? I have been instructed to reassure you that their offer of help is not conditional on you accepting their offer of employment. Even if you don't they will still help you find accommodation and employment of your choice, in conjunction with Gringotts they will help you set up appropriate muggle bank accounts, make sure that you have muggle identification and even help you gain a muggle education if you so desire."

"You know what? I think I would like to at least meet with them," Sirius said, figuring that it could be a good way to at least meet some new people. While Azkaban had left Sirius with some deep seated trust issues he was lonely and longed for a bit of human companionship. It was unlikely that he'd ever be able to relate to all the muggles he was going to meet but maybe it would be different with other witches and wizards who'd left the magical world. "How does Gringotts know so much about it, anyway?"

"Gringotts are involved with transferring the magical bank accounts to muggle ones," Ironheart explained. "Also, Gringotts solicitors occasionally have to intervene if the Ministry or individual families try to legally prevent a witch or wizard from leaving the magical world."

"Why would anybody try stopping a witch or wizard from leaving if they want to go?" Sirius asked. "If someone's desperate enough to abandon magic altogether I doubt they have anyone left who cares enough to want them to stay."

"Mostly for inheritance reasons," Ironheart explained.

"Well you're not going to have that problem with me," Sirius said. "There's nobody but me left alive with a claim to the Black Estate and nobody who will want me to stay for personal reasons. In fact, people will probably jump for joy when they realize I'm not going to be around anymore."

"Narcissa Malfoy's son has a claim to the estate, does he not?" Ironheart questioned. "I believe the boy is your closest living male relative."

Sirius shook his head. "The brat _is _the closest male relative I have left but the only way he _might _get his hands on the estate is if I die. Even then, though I could nominate another heir, such as my godson, effectively disinheriting Malfoy. As it stands now, while I'm alive, the only way the brat might be entitled to a portion of the estate was if he gave up the Malfoy name and petitioned me for admittance to the House of Black. I'm sure Lucius Malfoy's offspring will be just as vile as he is, basking in the sense of entitlement that the Malfoy name gives him, so I can't see the brat giving it up anytime soon."

"Point taken," Ironheart conceded. "Have you considered the Black seat on the Wizengamot, though? What will you do about that?"

Sirius chuckled darkly. "Can you imagine what would happen if I arrived at the Ministry saying I was there to join the Wizengamot? Especially after how much money I've just taken the Ministry for? I'd probably be assassinated on sight. Not to mention I have no interested in politics or the 'betterment of the ministry' or whatever it is the Wizengamot claim to stand for. No, it's better that the Black seat goes into satis for now. Maybe one day I'll have a descendant who can claim it or perhaps someone from the line of Marius Black will."

"It is probably for the best," the goblin admitted.

"Seriously, though there's nothing anybody can do to touch my money and there's nobody left who cares enough to want me to stay for other reasons," Sirius said matter-of-factly. He'd long since accepted that he was utterly alone in the world. "As for my bank account here I won't close it completely but I will be transferring most of it, say 80% of it, to the muggle world. Even if, on the off chance, I end up having children and they end up being magical they'll either be homeschooled or educated overseas so there isn't really any point leaving much money here."

"Yes, well, we'll handle all that in a few weeks when the muggle accounts have been opened for you," Ironheart said. "In the meantime I recommend you convert about 1000 galleons into muggle currency. That will give you about 5000 pounds and should be enough to tide you over until then."

"Thank you," Sirius nodded, accepting the advice. "I'll do that today if you don't mind setting the meeting with these people up as soon as possible. I'll keep in contact with you to make sure that the Ministry plays ball but I don't see the point in putting off making my move."

There was nothing here for Sirius anymore and, honestly, he was quite eager for this new stage of his life to begin.

* * *

Merry Christmas to everyone from New Zealand. I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday, without the rain I have here!


End file.
